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Maple Leafs Prospect Roundup: Leafs sign Buhr and Borgesi, Danford earns accolades
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Photo credit: Jim Pierce-Northeastern University
Nick Richard
Mar 19, 2026, 06:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 19, 2026, 01:34 EDT
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As a team that has dealt away its fair share of prospects and draft capital, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been busy in the undrafted free agent market over the last few seasons, landing the likes of Jacob Quillan and Luke Haymes, and they got back to work on supplementing their farm system with a couple of signings out of the NCAA this week.
22-year-old defenceman Vincent Borgesi was the first to sign on with the Leafs, inking a two-year entry-level contract after four seasons at Northeastern University. Undersized at just 5’8″ and around 175lbs, Borgesi mitigates that disadvantage with great skating ability and his competitive nature. He is well-regarded for his character as well, and served as his team’s captain this past season, racking up five goals and 15 assists in 36 games.
Borgesi isn’t a flashy handler or elite setup man, but he is highly active jumping into the rush and patrolling the offensive blue line, utilizing fakes and good lateral movement to open up passing lanes. Even at the college level, he could be overpowered in front of his net or along the boards, but he makes good reads and uses his footspeed to close on opposing attackers quickly. Ultimately, Borgesi likely tops out as a quality AHLer, but he brings an element that is in short supply in Toronto’s pipeline, and could parlay that into a greater opportunity down the road.
The ink had barely dried on Borgesi’s deal when the Leafs announced that they had also signed one of this year’s most sought-after NCAA free agents, winger Brandon Buhr out of Union College, to a one-year entry-level contract. A native of British Columbia, Buhr will turn 24 this summer, so his runway to crack the NHL could be even shorter, but he has the tools to snatch a bottom-six role at some point. If he gets there, it will be because of his blend of size and skating ability. Buhr stands at 6-foot-2 and weighs in at 205lbs, and he uses that big frame to protect the puck while his speed allows him to separate from opposing defenders. He can be tough to handle down low in the offensive zone, and he has a quality release that helped him pot 19 goals in each of the last two seasons. This past season was the most productive of his NCAA career, finishing with 36 points in 35 games. Buhr will have to round out the rough edges on the defensive side of the puck and lean even more into his physical game, but he has a chance to play NHL games.
Like Borgesi, Buhr’s contract will only kick in next season, but both players are expected to join the Marlies for the remainder of this season. There should be a clear path to playing time for Buhr, but Borgesi might have to bide his time as the Marlies push for a playoff spot down the stretch.

Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:

  • It has been a season of firsts for rookie Easton Cowan, and he crossed another first off his list this past week when he got into his first NHL fight. The hit that saw Auston Matthews’ season come to an end at the hands of Radko Gudas, and the lack of immediate response from the other Leafs on the ice, has been well documented. Several members of the team, including Cowan, have expressed regret over how they handled that moment, with Cowan telling reporters, “Obviously, I wish I did something, and that’s on me. I gotta step in there, stick up for my teammate, so I’ll learn from that.” Being a 20-year-old rookie, Cowan shouldn’t be the first player anyone is looking at to answer the bell in those situations, but he’s playing with the big boys now, and he didn’t let the next opportunity pass him by. After Matthews was forced to leave the game, Ducks defender Jackson LaCombe caught Nick Robertson with a heavy hit, and Cowan wasted no time dropping the gloves to get after him. It may have been Cowan’s first tilt in the NHL, but he’s no stranger to throwing punches, with several OHL bouts to his name, and it’s that kind of tenacity that has been missing from the Leafs’ core for far too long. While Cowan is still growing into being a core piece for the Leafs, it’s encouraging to see his willingness to step up in those situations, and hopefully, it is something he can help imprint on the rest of the group moving forward.
  • Ben Danford doesn’t have the offensive production befitting a top prospect, but he is still regarded as having a relatively safe floor as an NHL player, due mostly to his competitiveness and advanced understanding of the defensive side of the puck. Those attributes were recognized by rival coaches once again this past week, as he was voted the best defensive defenceman and best shot blocker, while finishing as the runner-up for best penalty killer in the OHL’s Eastern Conference. Danford will likely need some seasoning in the AHL when he makes the transition to pro hockey in 2026-27, and he certainly isn’t going to fix their lack of offensive skill on the back end, but it looks like the Leafs have a solid defender on the way.
  • Tinus Luc Koblar has put together an impressive season after being selected by the Leafs at the end of the second round last June, holding down a middle-six role in the SHL as an 18-year-old centre. He scored his eighth goal of the campaign last Thursday, bringing him to 14 points in 47 games – fifth most among U19 skaters in Sweden’s top professional league. Koblar has yet to sign his entry-level contract with the Leafs, and it remains to be seen where he will play next season, but Leksands’ relegation status could be a big factor in deciding whether to bring him over to North America or have him play in Sweden for another year.
  • Tyler Hopkins was playing the best hockey of his career, piling up eight goals and two assists over a five-game stretch before suffering a concussion that has kept him out of the lineup since March 1st. There is no definitive timeline for his return to game action, but Guelph are hoping to have him back soon with the playoffs just around the corner.
  • It was yet another productive week for Miroslav Holinka, notching two goals and a pair of assists in three games. It has been a fantastic season for the 2024 fifth-rounder, and he is among the top scorers in the WHL with 37 goals and 43 assists in 58 games. The Oil Kings have been one of the top teams in the league all season long, and Holinka will be a key figure in what they hope will be a deep postseason run, but he could finish the season with the Marlies if things don’t go Edmonton’s way.
  • Borgesi and Buhr weren’t the only players to sign new contracts with the Leafs this week, as the club locked up goaltender Artur Akhtyamov with a three-year extension. It was a nice way to celebrate his first shutout of the season, which came a day earlier when he stopped all 26 shots he faced against Rochester. Akhtyamov has had a solid season, carrying the bulk of the workload in the Marlies’ crease and earning an AHL All-Star nod, and he now has a record of 18-10-6 to go along with a 2.86 GAA and a .904 SV%. With Joseph Woll, Anthony Stolarz, Dennis Hildeby, and now Akhtyamov, all under contract for the foreseeable future, Toronto’s goaltending depth chart is in a good spot.
  • Luke Haymes has cooled down, going without a point in his last three games, but he had a big showing against Syracuse last Wednesday. He scored his 15th goal of the season, added his 11th assist, and he finished plus-5 in the 5-1 victory. After a slow start, Haymes has put together a strong rookie season in the AHL and could even get a look with the Leafs as they play out the stretch of a lost season.
  • Defenceman Noah Chadwick is another Marlies rookie who has really elevated his game in the second half of the season. He scored his fifth goal of the season in the game against Syracuse last Wednesday and picked up an assist against Rochester on Saturday, bringing him to 20 points in 57 games. That’s a fine total for a rookie blueliner, but what’s more impressive is that 14 of those points have come in his last 23 games. There are still plenty of areas for him to improve, most notably his skating, but Chadwick is trending up.
  • William Villeneuve hasn’t been able to match the numbers he posted a year ago, but he’s riding a nice little streak. With an assist in each of his last four games, he leads Marlies blueliners with 24 points in 52 games. It appears that players like Henry Thrun and Dakota Mermis are still ahead of Villeneuve on the depth chart, but he could still be a candidate for a late-season look with the Leafs.
  • Ryan Tverberg is heating up for the Marlies down the stretch. He had a goal and two assists against Syracuse on Wednesday, scored again in Friday’s overtime loss to Rochester, and then added another goal and assist against Cleveland on Tuesday. For the season, Tverberg is now up to 11 goals and 16 assists in 53 games while playing both centre and wing.
Statistics from EliteProspects.com
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